Oct 28, 2018; New York, NY, USA; New York City forward David Villa (7) celebrates his goal against the Philadelphia Union during the first half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

Audio clips from Ben Sweat, Alex Ring and David Villa. Player and Coach quotes provided by NYCFC.com

NYCFC HEAD COACH DOMÈNEC TORRENT

On how the team looks going to the playoffs, physically and mentally…

“I think that the most important thing for the next game, because it’s a knockout game, is to play with confidence for the first half or at least the first 30 minutes, and with strong mentality – and with desire. In the MLS, if you have the desire to win, it’s not impossible. The desire is very important and the mentality.

On whether it is advantage to play Philadelphia again after beating them a few days prior…

“You never know. It’s not easy to win two games in a row with the same team, but we have to be focused [on] our team. We have to recover. The best news for us is that we get to play again in Yankee Stadium. We are stronger here. We play with more confidence, and we have to review our game because I didn’t like 20 minutes in the second half when we decided to defend deep because we defend much better when we defend high.

On how Yangel Herrera is looking…

“The first idea was for him to play 60/70 minutes, but at the half, he told me he felt good and I said to him, when you are tired hand up and we change. I’m very happy for the team because he was able to play 90 minutes and that is good news for us.”

NYCFC FORWARD DAVID VILLA

On the game…

“The feeling is good. We were talking about [it] before the game that we need the three points, we need to win the game – the result today was very favorable to us. The result gives us [a chance] to play the playoff at home. We were talking about before we need to [head into the playoffs] with a win and we did it. It’s about the good play we did today, and it’s something we need to show in the playoffs.”

On if having to go through the knockout round will help NYCFC this season…

“I believe every year is different. If you ask me about the experiences the last years, the guys that played in the knockout arrived to the semifinal with more confidence, with more power. I hope this year it happens the same because we’re in the knockout but again, every game and every year is totally different.”

On Yangel Herrera making the team better…

“Of course. He’s one of the best players not only on our team, he’s one of the best players in the league – we’ve felt that way. His position, he’s really important for us. We need him, he did very good. He didn’t think “I broke my ankle…see you next year.” When the people said “probably you won’t play”, he was focusing and said, “I will play in the playoffs, I will work to play.” He worked a lot in the shadows, and we say thank you to him. He’s a very important player for us and he did a strong job for the team.”

NYCFC MIDFIELDER YANGEL HERRERA

On personal fitness level, playing the full game…

“Yes, thank god I’m in good form. Today’s game showed that I’m 100% for the playoffs. It’s been a long journey in order to get back here well. At the beginning I thought I’d play 60-70 minutes but I felt fine on the field, and coach gave me the chance to continue on the field.”

On facing the Union again in the playoffs…

“Yeah, now we know how they play, and they know how we play. However, every game is different, and we’ll see how they come out [this week]. It’s clear that it will be a different game because now it’s to be or not to be, it’s the playoffs, and we’ll come out with even better intensity than we did today.”

NYCFC MIDFIELDER ALEXANDER RING

Talk about the momentum today and how that brings you to the next game…

“Yeah, I think the intensity, the energy, we had from the beginning today set the tone. I think it’s the way we usually play and the way we have to play going into the playoffs.”

Talk about the having the whole squad back and playing well…

“We have all our guys back now and the competition is very high. Everyone was there today and that’s why we won.”

Was this a good game to go into the playoffs on…

“I think the intensity, the energy, the form is what we need going into the playoffs. This is what we have to have going into the playoffs and it’s something that we’ll regroup and try to figure out how to bring into the next game.”

NYCFC GOALKEEPER SEAN JOHNSON

On the penalty kick save…

“It was a reaction that I picked my side. There is not much to it. I think he hit a decent penalty. I was able to get a decent read on it. On any given night it would have gone the other way. I got a good jump. Just tried to do my best turn the ball around. It was an important moment in the match. 3-2 would have been a lot of pressure on us for the rest of game.”